The Introduction to "Clear Body, Clear Mind"

Outrageous Nonsense by Two L. Ron Hubbard Toadies

Clear
Body, Clear Mind describes L. Ron Hubbard's "Purification
Rundown", which is simultaneously marketed as a spiritual cleansing
service by the Church of Scientology, and as a secular drug
"detoxification" program by Scientology front groups such as Narconon
and Criminon. The book has a companion Scientology web site, clearbodyclearmind.com,
where you can read the first chapter for free.

This web page reproduces (without permission, but within the
parameters of "fair use") the Introduction to this book, in order to
examine the outlandish claims made therein. For a more systematic
examination of Scientology's fraudulent claims about the Purif, see
Chris Owen's essay Hubbard's
Junk Science, part of the Narconon-Exposed.org web site.

The Introduction was written by Dr. David Root, MD, MPH, and James
Barnes, both of whom are members of Narconon's
advisory board. Both have ties to FASE, the Foundation for
Advancements in Science and Education, another group that is alleged
to have conducted an "independent" study of Narconon's effectiveness.
(They can't possibly be independent, as they are a known Scientology
front group.)

Clear Body, Clear Mind

by L. Ron Hubbard
pp vii - xiii

INTRODUCTION

The TWENTIETH CENTURY brought miraculous changes in technology and industry. Again
and again, science refashioned or outwitted nature to improve our health and comfort.
Bust as the years passed, a cloud gathered around this progress. Out environment -
and out bodies - began to react to something new in man's history; a continuous
assault of man-made drugs, toxins and radiation.

[DELETION: Snipped a long, uninspired rant about the entire
planet going to hell due to pesticides, pollution, drug abuse, and
radiation.]

In the face of such an overwhelming barrage of toxins and drugs encountered on a
daily basis, what can be done to free oneself from the devastating effects?

The answer came from the breakthrough discoveries of L. Ron Hubbard. In 1977, while
researching the harmful effects of drugs on a person's spiritual advancement, he
discovered that the drug LSD left residual deposits in the user's fatty tissue. He
found that these residuals could continue to cause adverse reactions in these
individuals months and even years after the original "trip" was over. He later
extended his discoveries to other drugs and toxic compounds. He then developed and
released a purification (detoxification) procedure that could safely reduce or
eliminate the toxic chemicals accumulated in fatty tissues.

L. Ron Hubbard's formal schooling
ended when he flunked
out of George Washington University in 1932, his sophomore year,
after earning D's and F's in calculus, chemistry, and physics. He
later purchased a Ph.D. from Sequoia University, a mail-order diploma
mill. Hubbard was never involved in any kind of legitimate scientific
research, and never worked in a physiology laboratory, much less
operated one of his own. How would he know what was lurking in
someone's fatty tissue? Besides, he had other things on his mind in
1977. On July 8 of that year, the FBI raided the Washington and Los
Angeles offices of the Church of Scientology and carted off dozens of
boxes of evidence documenting the Church's involvment in criminal
activities. Hubbard spent the next few years hiding out from US law
enforcement while his wife Mary Sue and several other high-ranking
Scientologists went to prison. He was not conducting medical
research.

At the time, these were radical ideas. The idea that chemical residues
stored for years in the fat was controversial. The idea that these
residues could actually cause adverse effects was revolutionary.
Nonetheless, the Purification program created dramatic effects on
those who participated in it.

Research in subsequent years was validated by Mr. Hubbard's theory,
and has demonstrated the value of the program for a variety of toxic
exposures. This work has shown beyond question that the Purification
program described in this book, when followed exactly, can be
remarkably effective. In fact, thousands upon thousands across the
planet have freed themselves from the biochemical devastation caused
by drugs and toxic substances.

Research is not "validated" by a
theory. Rather, theory is validated by experiment. No peer-reviewed
experiments have ever shown the effectiveness of Hubbard's theory. In
fact, no proper scientific study by a neutral party has ever been
done. One such study was proposed by Dr. Joseph Miceli (see The Miceli Proposal), to be conducted at Central
Michigan University, but it was rejected by the human subject review
committee as "unfit for human experimentation".

As his intention was solely to clear the way for individual's mental
and spiritual progress, L. Ron Hubbard claimed no medical results for
his work. However, the Purification program has extremely broad
application - as all truly basic discoveries do.

His claim that drugs are stored in fat
cells and can be excreted years later in sweat and urine is a purely
medical claim. If he claimed no medical results, it's because
he didn't want the FDA to come after him; he already had enough
problems with the FBI. (And the FDA had already come after
Scientology in 1965 for making illegal medical claims about its
E-meter device.)

In the course of clinical practice, it has been possible to observe firsthand the
results of the Purification program. They have been nothing less than miraculous.
These cases have included patients with minor effects of residual toxins, people who
were exposed to toxic chemicals on the job, casual drug users and long-term heavy
drug users with bodies ravaged from the effects of those drugs. The depression,
hopelessness and fear which often accompany such problems were also evident in many
of these patients. Upon completion of the Purification program, these people were
changed, both physically and mentally.

Ah, so now they DO want to claim
medical results. Guess Hubbard changed his mind. So where is the
peer-reviewed research to back up these claims? A quarter century
after Hubbard's momentous "discovery", there is still nothing in any
peer-reviewed journal to support his unorthodox (i.e., nutty) ideas.

The common theme expressed by people who have completed the program is that they are
no longer encumbered by the chemicals which were shutting off their lives. They
express increased mental clarity and new hope for the future. Upon completion of the
program, their lives are happier, healthier and more productive.

Studies done over the decades provide repeated evidence of the program's
effectiveness in eliminating toxins from the body. For example, consider the
following:

While monitoring the rehabilitation of cocaine and Valium addicts using the
Purification program, a medical doctor and a molecular biologist found that
previously undetectable drugs appeared both in the urine and sweat of former drug
users. In other words, these residual drugs were dislodged as a result of the program
and eliminated, freeing each individual from the harmful effects of these drugs.

The only people making these claims are those affiliated with Scientology or its
front group, Narconon. No respectable independent investigator has ever confirmed
any of Hubbard's nonsense about excreting stored toxins.

A young woman had spent six months on a job that required her to hose off the
filters of an oil burning generator. She had developed a variety of physical
symptoms, accompanied by a general hopelessness about life. She was enrolled in a
supervised Purification program. On the fourth day of the program, a blackish greasy
material began to ooze out of the pores of her skin. This continued for several days
and eventually ceased. When she completed the program, her physical complaints were
gone. An even greater relief she expressed was the return of the mental and physical
energy and alertness that we associate with good health.

The deadly chemical dioxin found in the military defoliant "Agent Orange" and used
during the Vietnam War, poisoned thousands that were exposed to it, including the
American servicemen. Years later a cardiologist conducted tests on a person who had
been exposed to this chemical but subsequently completed the Purification program. He
found that the patient's level of dioxin had reduced by 29 percent immediately after
the program and an astounding 97 percent eight months later. And all previous
symptoms attributed to this poisoning had disappeared.

If the Purif could really cure the effects of exposure to Agent Orange, it would
be in use at dozens of military hopitals throughout the United States. But it's
not. All we have is one glowing story from an unnamed doctor. Why didn't
he treat all his other patients with the Purif and become a hero?

A number if military veterans who served in the Gulf War returned with various
debilitating conditions. These individuals lived and fought in the presence of a long
list of toxins, ranging from pesticides, the byproducts of oil well fires,
radioactive shells and, possibly, chemical warfare agents. Several veterans suffering
from this "Gulf War Syndrome" have completed this program. All have reported
remarkable improvements.

So the Purif cures Gulf War Syndrome too? And yet, it's not in use in any
US military healthcare facility. How do they explain this? They don't even try.
But the REALLY nutty stuff is yet to come: L. Ron Hubbard on radiation.

In addition, L. Ron Hubbard also noticed that the program had great workability in
reducing certain effects of exposure to harmful forms of radiation.

The Chernobyl disaster is considered one of the worst nuclear accidents ever to have
occurred. Workers and residents were exposed to a wide range of radiation doses,
along with great stress and anxiety. Many of these people are now suffering from a
number of illnesses related to the event. While the specific relation of these
illnesses to radiation is still the subject of scientific studies, an approach that
would return these men, women and children to a state of good mental and physical
health was needed.

Mr. Hubbard's program was applied to several Chernobyl-affected groups. In
Kazakhstan, a group of men who worked on the repair and recovery from the Chernobyl
disaster (known as liquidators") had been suffering from these illnesses for several
years, and had not responded to standard medical treatments. The men were placed on
the Purification program, and all reported marked improvement from the debilitating
conditions from which they had suffered. In another group who lived in one of the
most radioactively contaminated regions of the Russian Federation, similar results
were reported - including clinical evidence that the men's immune systems had been
revitalized by the program.

Wow! The Purif can cure
radiation-related illnesses, and yet no one has bothered to publish a
single medical study confirming this. And no reputable hospital or
government agency endorses this miracle treatment. You can only get
it from your local Church of Scientology, or from a few quack
healthcare providers who just happen to be Scientologists. Why is
that?

The ongoing utilization of the Purification program, in many quarters, has been
documented in scientific papers published by various groups ranging from the World
Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences, to the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency.

This is misleading. None of these
groups has ever endorsed the Purif. They have held conferences to
which Scientologists (such as Megan Shields) submitted papers
claiming that the Purif works. Conference papers are informal means
of sharing ideas; they are not subject to the kind of rigorous peer
review used by top-tier medical and scientific journals. And the
organizations that sponsor these conferences do not automatically
endorse everything written in every paper presented there. To suggest
that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or the United Stated
Environmental Protection Agency thinks that the Purif is anything
other than worthless quackery is pure deception.

The papers in turn have led to several international conferences and meetings,
bringing together physicians, government officials, researchers, and drug
rehabilitation specialists. They represent the only international attempts to
consider drug abuse and environmental exposure as (related) problems - a notion that
helps to explain the growing popularity of the Purification program.

These meetings were sponsored by Scientology's own front groups, and the
only presentations supporting the Purif were given by persons affiliated with
Scientology and/or Narconon.

The problem of preserving the well-being of individuals living in a toxic world has
been begging for a solution. With this book that solution is in your hands.

L. Ron Hubbard's Purification program remains the only proven and safe method for
reducing or eliminating chemical residues from the body. It has been used to
alleviate the symptoms and concerns of people exposed to radiation. With each year,
the importance of this discovery to every man, woman and child on this planet becomes
more evident.

The method is neither proven nor safe;
it poses significant medical risks, especially of liver damage due to
the high doses of niacin.

This could be the most important book you will ever read.

Or it could lead you into the arms of a dangerous religious cult that will
leave you broken, penniless, and possibly dead.